The present invention relates to an improved loudspeaker which comprises a tweeter and a woofer in a compact and environmentally resistant arrangement suitable for mounting in harsh environments such as on a ship or the like where water may splash on the loudspeaker.
A conventional loudspeaker comprising a tweeter and a woofer is usually mounted in such a manner that the tweeter and the woofer face in the same direction Another conventional loudspeaker comprises a tweeter and a woofer, whose axes are crossed with each other in order to mount the loudspeaker in the baggage space between the back seat and rear window of a motor vehicle. However, the vibrating sheets of the tweeter and the woofer are oriented in such a manner that the vibrating sheets are visible, and are thus environmentally exposed from the front of the loudspeaker.
If the tweeter of each of the conventional loudspeakers is shaped as a horn speaker, the horn projects by a necessary length from the front of the speaker. Since the tweeter as well as the woofer of each of the loudspeakers faces forward, water splashes or the like are likely to sprinkle on the vibrating sheet, voice coil and so forth of the tweeter due to waves against a ship, washing or the like. If the water is sea water, it is very likely to cause the vibrating sheet, voice coil and so forth of the tweeter to corrode and thus lower the reliability thereof. If the tweeter is a horn speaker, the length of the tweeter is increased to augment that of the speaker to make it disadvantageous as to the mounting thereof. In addition, a conventional loudspeaker system has a dividing network or circuit such that the tweeter and the woofer share a whole frequency range. The dividing network comprises a choke coil and a capacitor. The aforementioned water splashes or the like are also likely to sprinkle on the dividing network causing it to rust and to disconnect the lead wire of the capacitor at the body thereof, and destroying the electrically insulating film of the choke coil. Even if the dividing network is housed in a container to prevent the water splashes or the like from sprinkling on the dividing network, a typical location in which the loudspeaker is mounted is likely to make it impossible to provide a space to place the container.